Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Frylord 01-27-06, 01:10 PM	All right, I'm new so bear with me. Heres my villan idea One thousand years ago a human child named Sron was born. He developed an unquenchable lust for knowledge. After becoming a powerful wizard at age 25, Sron tried to learn everything. He had perfect memory, and his masters were amazed at the pace he learned. Sron was angered that they wouldn't let him learn about Black Magic. He went into a depression. He finally snapped and consulted an archdemon lord. To be able to get knowledge forever, he transformed himself into a lich. He has almost become a demi-lich. He takes control behind the scenes while his Deathknight captain, Do'nar, attacks the land. If you use Sron in your campaign, your PCs should be lucky to even find out his name. Sron wants to have all the knowledge and secrets in the world, and is preparing to cast a spell that does that. Well? Is it good? Bear in mind this IS my first time with a villian concept. Please give good ideas. EDIT: Yes, I know this isn't really a character, but could you still help?
Frylord 01-27-06, 01:19 PM	Help? Oh, by the way, Sron has a powerful disguise. He uses predisgation (did I spell it right?) and change self. He sold his soul for Knowledge. He also has an Amulet that doesn't allow true sight on him. EDIT: He actually didn't sell his soul for the amulet.
Frylord 01-27-06, 04:11 PM	:bump:
JulesCARV 01-27-06, 04:24 PM	Well.... why do the PCs and Sron have any conflict with each other? So he wants a lot of knowledge. Great. So what is he doing to get that knowledge that makes the PCs mad at him? Is he, for example, kidnapping people so that he can conduct his research on them? Is he blackmailing people unless they divulge secrets to him? Why should the PCs care if there some fellow who wants to know everything? You say that his Deathknight captain attacks the land. Why? How will attacking the land help him get knowledge?
Frylord 01-27-06, 04:46 PM	Well first of all, I don't have any players in my game YET. I might eventually. Second, Sron is kidnapping people and trying to rip out their minds to gain every little tidbit he can. The Deathknight is just a diversion to stall for time, because the spell to gain supreme knowledge, takes 24 hours, also, Sron wants to distract the kingdoms (1 elven, 1 human, 1 dwarven, and 2 gnomish kingdoms) so he can use his spell undected.
Ashianyl 01-27-06, 07:42 PM	The best villains PCs love to hate are those that manipulate the PCs. A scheming behind the scenes character is one thing, but one who actually meets up, befriends and provide benefits (albeit minor ones) to the PCs only to stop the PCs short of their goals everytime (he does not have to be discovered so soon) and revealed only after the 10th time (when the PCs finally become powerful enough) are the best ones. phew. Hope I didn't make that sound too complicated. :P
Frylord 01-27-06, 08:33 PM	No, you didn't sound complicated. In fact, you just gave me my newest idea! I told people about Sron disguise, right? Well he knows that the heros are the only ones who can stop him, so in his magical disguise, he befriends the heros, gives them some quests, that sort of thing. When they figure out that hes undead, they will try to kill him, but he will revive after 5 years (instead of the normal 1d4 days). Then, they finally figure out that hes a lich, and they destroy his phylactory(sp?) and finally defeat him. By that time, Sron will have murdered the PCs favorite NPCs. :devil: EDIT: Sound good? (by that I mean sound evil :P )
Frylord 01-28-06, 12:06 AM	:bump:
Frylord 01-28-06, 06:55 PM	:bump: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :bump:
Setherial 01-30-06, 08:00 AM	I dig the part of consulting a demon to learn dark secrets from, find power where his teachers kept it from him and held him back. But why for the love of gob would he want to become a lich at the age of 25. Most of the time Necromancers are motivated by old age and their time running out, they seek to escape death but your guy he is exceptionally bright, he learned in a few years what others can't master in a lifetime. He is young and has a long life in front of him, why would he want to die and be reborn as a rotting corpse feared by everyone. He would't be able to show his face anymore in the library :)
Frylord 01-30-06, 10:47 AM	He wanted knowledge, and he knew that liches always had TONS of knowledge. :evillaugh :evillaugh :evillaugh :evillaugh :evillaugh Also, it took about a year for Sron's mind to snap. :P Also, I said in my second post, that he uses a disguise to gather even more knowledge. Why whould he still want to be a lich you ask? Well, some people just won't give away their knowledge willingly, so he needs power to take it from them. As you know, liches have a lot of power. :evillaugh :evillaugh
prettyripples 01-30-06, 02:06 PM	The one thing that struck me was "Why did the guy sell his soul for that amulet?" I mean, sure it's useful, but I'd have thought he'd want something better than that. It's pretty clear that you wanted him to be immune to scrying, and so you gave him the amulet, then tried to justify it. Suggestions: i) He took the amulet from a dead king's tomb ii) He stole the amulet from a powerful wizard (his teacher?), killing him in the process iii) He forced a great artisan to craft it for him (possibly kidnapping his daughter to force him into it, that kind of thing). Alternatively: Is the amulet really necessary? There are spells that give at least a little bit of protection against scrying. He could have Wished himself immune, or created a new spell especially to protect himself. Or he could just, you know, be normal - it's not as if the PCs will be scrying early in the campaign anyway. I'd probably just forget about the amulet.
Frylord 01-30-06, 04:45 PM	Well hes a lich! liches look and smell bad. I never said he sold his soul for amulent. He's trying to turn people against each other, and that's hard to do if you look and smell like a rotting corpse
Callista 01-30-06, 05:56 PM	Make him a devout worshipper of Vecna. Vecna is: a.) a lich b.) the god of secrets That's a good enough explanation for him to become a lich at the age of 25: He believes that becoming a lich will ingratiate him to Vecna, who may then grant him more power (knowledge/secrets). And, of course, if his life is at all dangerous, dying before becoming a lich might be a risk he's not willing to take. Additionally, being a lich does not mean you have to be a "rotting corpse". A simple "Gentle Repose" cast every few days will keep you looking just as good as you did in life. Of course the lack of breathing and heartbeat are detectable; but simple illusions will give the semblance of life--Disguise Self, for example, should be enough to allow skin to feel warm and to simulate breathing and a heartbeat. Your villain may even have multiple identities: One as the evil lich-lord, another as the young nobleman, another as the good priest, another as the traveling minstrel... He may be a master of disguise and magical manipulation of other people's perceptions... your PCs may meet him several times and not know that he is the same person each time, much less that he is their nemesis.
Fithero 01-30-06, 11:49 PM	He sold his soul for an item that you could probably buy somewhere in waterdeep or any other major city? This guy isnt sounding too bright. :confused: If he really wants all knowledge then he is going to want power to get it, thus he will want minions. He isnt going to go out and grab all these people (the ones he mind-rapes) by himself. Why both doing that when you can send your disposable minions out to do it for you. Dozens of minions (even if their human commoners) will be able to gather way more victums in one night than you will be able to. Also, if he has all these disguises (and if he is really that powerful) why not make him actually *use* them. If he disguises himself as the head priest for the local temple, perhaps he actually *is* the head priest. He just has the whole town fooled into thinking he is normal. Same goes if he is disguises himself as the captain of the guard, thieves guild leader, chief of some barbarian tribe. Have him use his disguises to fool *everybody* not just the pc's. Finally... he is a lich, the main thing here is that he has all of time to complete his goals. If the pc's become to bothersome and he thinks he cannot defeat them, have him to retreat to a safe house (which he sould have several of) and just rest there for a couple of decades or so while his minions continue his work. Hope this helps. Later
Frylord 01-31-06, 06:15 PM	It does help. And I keep saying HE DID NOT SELL HIS SOUL FOR AN AMULET!!! :headbang: Sorry for the caps. EDIT: Oh, wait I did say that... :embrassed: I'll edit that to.
interpretivechaos 01-31-06, 09:37 PM	I'm definately thinking that interesting things could be done as head librarian and sage- Player; "By Bahumet's Breath, a natural 1 on my Knowledge History check..." Player: "Master Cleric, I am not well enough versed in the lore of ancient nations to answer this question- perhaps we should consult the local sage...." Sage: "Ahh... these symbols represent the ancient order of the Crimson Mage- they were an elite order of mages dedicated to preserving neutrality. They possesed a stronghold not far from here in the Swamp of the Withered Asp...." Player:"Friends- I do not like the sound of that- The Swamp of the Withered Asp is well known for being a death trap for all who enter..." Player:"I suspect that Bahamut's grace leaves us with little choice in the matter... the symbol was found on the body of one of the kidnappers we killed- If we are to stop this ring of corruption we'll have to strike at the source..." Sage: "Ah yes... you are involved in the kidnapping investigations... the guard asked me to perform some divinations for them- I contacted the outer planes and managed to learn that the perpetrators of the crime have ties with the local assasins guild... I must tell you that my sources are not always accurate but......." So, now the players are going running into a death swamp, perhaps after raising the ire of the local assasins guild- and the sage (your friendly neighborhood lich) only had to utter a half-dozen sentences and has revealed himself as a trusted ally to the party...
Frylord 01-31-06, 10:55 PM	Hmmm... I like the ideas.... But keep em coming! :plotting: :evillaugh:
gsturchin 02-01-06, 01:34 AM	Help? Oh, by the way, Sron has a powerful disguise. He uses predisgation (did I spell it right?) and change self. He sold his soul for Knowledge. He also has an Amulet that doesn't allow true sight on him. EDIT: He actually didn't sell his soul for the amulet. See it does not read he sold his soul for the amulet. It reads he sold his soul for knowledge. But you should have a story for how he aquired the amulet. Maybe in his newfound Lichdom he returned to the library and after dispatching with everyone there he discovered it in a vault hidden within the library, infact maybe he turned everyone in the library into spellstiched(Complete Arcane) undead such as zombie's or ghouls.
Frylord 02-01-06, 10:51 AM	Sron stole the amulet from his father. I'll do a mini dialouge for the libary massacare.Oh, and by the way, the amulet, if destroyed, can reform once a week. Mage checking out the books in the libary: Hey Sron! I heard you were lost. Where have you been? Sron: *looking around* I've been researching a new spell, come with me. Mage: All right They go outside the libary, in an abandoned building. Mage: All right Sron, what's the spell? Sron, smirking: This! Suffer! Mage falls onto the floor shrieking in pain. Sron:Wither! Mage's skin starts withering. Sron:DIE! Mage dies. Sron goes to the libary, casts off his disguise. Everyone gasps. Kalar, Sron's father and the high mage: S-Sron? Y-You've become a lich! What are you doing?!? Sron:Succeding you, father. Sron: SUFFER! Sron: WITHER! Sron: DIE! Same as what happened to the mage happens to all the people in the libary. Sron does same thing to the entire town. Sron raises the entire town population into various undead. He transforms the towns champion, Do'nar, into a deathknight.
Frylord 02-02-06, 01:01 PM	:bump: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: :evillaugh: